Daniel's Story

by Paul Kelly

  Frieda looked scathing at Alison.

  "Yes, she's the brat's mum," she scoffed and Alison became very annoyed,

  "Dillon is a lovely, lovely little boy. I don't think you should refer to him in the way you do." she snapped and walked towards the other side of the room, but Frieda followed her.

  "Does he still sleep with his teddy bear?" asked Frieda and Alison looked down at the floor where she was standing, thinking that was a strange question to ask and quite unnecessary she thought.

  "I suppose he does. Most little boys like to take a teddy bear to bed, don't you think?" Alison replied curtly, but Frieda sneered again and curled her lips.

  "I was talking about the father, not the brat," she scoffed and Alison closed her eyes in disgust for a moment before she looked around the room for Dillon.

  "Where is Dillon?" she asked as she stood in the corner of the room, contemplating Frieda's nasty remarks and thought of herself like a scolded child in the classroom where she was sent to stand in the corner."Have you seen Dillon?" she asked again, thinking the little boy had wandered off into the room where Daniel had his pupil, but Frieda looked to the floor.

  "In the loo," she snapped, "Where you'll usually find him. Pissy child" and Alison was about to look for the little boy in the toilet, when her mind was stilled a few minutes after, as she heard the strains of the violin coming from where Daniel was teaching. It couldn't have been the pupil. The music was beautiful and mellow. If it was the pupil, he or she was bloody good, she thought and then the door opened and Daniel ushered his 'student' into the room where the guests had gathered. Dillon bowed to everyone and they all clapped, ... except Frieda. She stood with her hands on her hips and with a thin line for lips as she took out her cigarette case and tapped a cigarette hard against the case.

  Alison could not believe what she had heard. She rushed towards Dillon and scooped him up in her arms.

  "That was simply beautiful, darling," she said and then stood back to apologise for being so 'intimate' in her appraisal, but Dillon threw his arms around her even more and kissed her cheek.

  "I told you daddy was a good teacher, didn't I?" he said and then bowed again. “When he told you he had a pupil this afternoon, it was me, but we wanted to give you a surprise.”

  "Dillon is learning fast," added Daniel,"I had already arranged to give him a lesson this morning, as it is his birthday and I just couldn't let him down."

  Alison clapped all the more, but Frieda blew her cigarette smoke around the room, before she announced that she would have to leave soon, due to a 'more important' meeting she had at the school where she was teaching music.

  Daniel opened the street door for Frieda as she left the flat, but neither spoke and when he returned to the room where the others were assembled, he nodded towards Alison.

  "That was the very famous Frieda. The one who is aiming to take all I have away with her, except Dillon, of course. She's only after money. She doesn't want to be bothered with children. Is she the one who met you at the cafe?"

  Alison was stunned for the moment at Daniel's remarks. They sounded so caustic and so unusual to her expectations of what he might have said about anyone.

  "Yes, but as I said, she didn't give me her name. I don't know why she wanted to see me, unless it was to make comparisons," replied Alison and Daniel raised his eyebrows.

  "Comparisons?" he asked and Alison grinned.

  "Well, she probably sees herself as someone special and she wanted to see what there was in anyone else who could possible be considered as equal."

  Daniel smiled again and threw his head back before he broke into a peal of laughter.

  "She need not have troubled herself," he said as he shook his head, "There is absolutely no comparison. None whatsoever. Ah! that's the door bell. It must be Rene."

  Alison could hear a burst of raucous laughter as Rene came into the flat.

  "Where is he? Where's the birthday boy?" she called out with her arms outstretched, but Dillon never left Alison's side. In fact he grabbed her hand and held it close.

  Alison felt a little embarrassed as she called out, "There's mummy," hoping Dillon would respond, but the little boy didn't move until Rene came into the room and scowled.

  "You little so and so," she said, with a wry smile on her face. "A real ladies man is this one. No time for his mummy when there are other ladies about, eh?"

  Alison thought she might save the day by remarking on how beautifully Dillon had played on his violin but it seemed that instead of improving the situation, she made things worse.

  "Oh! that, " said Rene, "He takes that caper from his dad, does that one. Wasting time screeching away on that bloody thing."

  Alison could not help showing how hurt she was at Rene's remarks, and especially as they were about her only son, who was definitely so gifted. Most mothers would be proud of any achievement their little one mastered so well, but then, she reflected that Rene was most definitely not interested in music and certainly not the classical stuff that Daniel and his son enjoyed.

  "I think he plays beautifully," she went on, ignoring Rene's damning remarks,"I think its wonderful too that Daniel is still able to play so well with his ... his problem."

  "Oh! Dillon will love that, he will," Rene replied, "Anyone who gives him praise for that stupid thing can be his friend for life. That's what I say and as for Daniel. Well, I think he should have given that up long ago and got himself a decent job, instead of struggling as he does. It's not worth it for a few screeching sounds, is it?"

  Daniel, who had been silent all this while suddenly whipped Dillon up in his arms and kissed him.

  "Daddy's boy," he proclaimed with more hugs and Rene looked away.

  "Never gives his mummy the time of day, he doesn't," she went on “and that bloody rabbit doesn’t help either. He thinks more of that thing than he does of me.” Daniel put Dillon down when he gave her an answer, but the little boy frowned and looked to Alison for some explanation ...

  "Mummy doesn't see much of him at all these days ...” Daniel snapped angrily, “Strange, don't you think? Unless that's what the modern Mummy does ...?"

  Rene scowled and asked if there was anything in the flat for drinking ... and she didn't mean tea or coffee.

  "There's a bottle of gin in the kitchen," said Daniel, "Or whisky if you prefer ... Or can you tell the difference these days?"

  "Anything that takes my mind off life as it is," Rene scoffed."I'd go on some sort of drug, but I don't know what they can do to you, although a friend of mine says they're great for relieving you of any pressure you might have and I mean, pressure that's put on you by other people," she snorted and gave Daniel a dirty look."I can cope with my own problems, much as they are, but when I have to think of ... .well, there's nothing I can do about that."

  Alison looked from Rene to Daniel and her mind was confused as Daniel took young Dillon by the hand.

  "We'll do a little more practice till your mother cools off," he barked and led Dillon into the other room.

  "Can I make you a cup of tea or something?" Alison asked Rene ignoring the fact that she would more than likely have preferred something stronger, but to her surprise Rene shook her head.

  "Tea will be fine," she said and closed her eyes as she settled herself into the sofa with a grunt. "Not too much milk and two sugars."

  Alison wanted to ask her about the magic word, but she felt it was a waste of time. People like Rene never thought to say please or thank you. They were above all that. . but as Alison was making the tea, Rene appeared suddenly beside her in the kitchen. "He did say there was something stronger, didn't he?" she asked and opened several cupboard doors in a flash. "Ah! This'll do nicely," she proclaimed with great jubilation as she stuck a bottle of whisky under her arm and returned to the lounge. "I suppose he's got the bloody stuff
marked in the bottle," she snapped. "He usually draws a thin pencil line, somewhere. No, he's slipping. No tell tale marks ... Good, I can drink what I want now without old snoopy drawers watching ... ."

  Rene snuggled up closely into the comfort of the sofa as she uncorked the whisky and stuck the bottle to her lips.

  "Do you want a glass with that?" Alison enquired, but Rene didn't even look up. "Get more this way," she said and continued to swig from the bottle as Alison put the tea cup on the coffee table by the side of the sofa and left the 'drinker' to herself.

  Dillon returned after a short while and opened his batman cape with care, before he slipped the mask over his head.

  "You'll be able to fly out the window with that on, won't you?" Alison joked, but Rene took up the pun in her own way.

  "Don't prompt him," she muttered under her breath. "He might just do it." she went on as she doubled up with laughter, making out that her remark was a joke and

  Alison was about to retaliate, just as Daniel appeared in the room with his violin.

  "That's enough for today," he said as he put the instrument carefully into its case and closed the lid, before he pretended to be afraid of the sight of Dillon with his batman gear on. There were shrieks of joy at that moment and Alison and David clapped, whilst Rene hiccupped loudly and giggled her apologies into her bottle.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Alison kissed Dillon when the party was over. It was getting late for the little boy to be up and Daniel told him to go brush his teeth and get ready for bed, but as Alison returned to her flat, there were uncertain feelings in her heart. She thought again of Frieda's remarks and wondered how any woman could think as she did about a little boy, until she thought again about Rene's observations.

  "How could a mother think about her son as she does?" she asked herself aloud in the street and a man passing by looked twice at her, probably thinking she had a drop too many, but Alison ignored his stare and went on her way. It was only when she did eventually get home that she let rip with her feelings, kicking a footstool across the room and throwing some cushions against the wall, before she started to shout.

  "Stupid, stupid people," she snapped, "They want to think themselves lucky to have ever been loved by such a man as Daniel Roberts. I can't understand what makes them tick and as for that Rene woman, she should be ashamed of herself allowing her son to see her in the state she was in. Why ... she as falling over with all the drink she had knocked back."

  It was only when she sat down and kicked her shoes off, that she thought about Daniel and how tolerant he was towards those two bitches who made his life such a misery.

  She thought again about Rene's remarks about Daniel getting himself a 'decent' job, but surely she must have realized the years of training it takes to become a violinist and in particular, one who played like Daniel did ... and who was qualified to teach the instrument to others. Alison sat quietly thinking for some time before she went into the kitchen to make herself a coffee, but even as she was drinking, her mind was alive with the thoughts of the party. What a party for that poor little boy ... and as an afterthought, she hoped that Frankie was O.K. being alone in the garden without his little friend ... What were those two 'she-devils' thinking about? She stared at the ceiling, knowing there was little if anything she could do to help in the situation, as Daniel was so independent and didn't want help from anyone. Alison could feel herself falling asleep as she went on thinking ... and wishing that Daniel Roberts would look at her in a very different way and realize that however he felt, she would always love him.

  Chapter Nineteen

  It seemed like only a few moments ago that she had drunk her coffee and nestled up into the sofa, but she could hear the sound quite distinctly. It wasn't her alarm. No it was much too early for that as she studied her wrist watch. Suddenly she got up and went to the phone.

  "Hello ... hello, is anyone there?" she enquired, but it was a few moments before the voice on the other end of the phone came through to her.

  "Is that you Alison?"

  "Yes ... who is that?"

  "It's Rosie. Alison, I've spoken to 'you-know-who' and he won't consider that I should keep the baby. I don't know what to do."

  "Rosie, please don't let that creep tell you how to live your life. You should do exactly as you want and tell him to get stuffed. I've told you, he's no good anyway and if you do as he suggests, he may come to see you a few times after that, but very soon he'll drop you when someone else comes along." There was a long pause before Rosie spoke again and Alison became worried, as she thought she could hear her friend crying. "Rosie, Rosie," Alison called into the phone, "Rosie, are you alright. I thought I could hear you crying. Please don't cry Rosie. He's not worth it, please believe me."

  Alison waited for a few more moments, expecting Rosie to put the phone down, but she didn't.

  "Alison, I know you know ... I know you know this man better than I do, but ... Alison, I love him. That might sound strange to you after all you've told me about him, but I can't help it. I've only seen him a few times, but I love him. I really, really do."

  Alison stopped to think when Rosie told her that. She thought again of how she had met Daniel in the cafe and how she felt about him then, and that was only a short time to fall in love with anyone, so what the hell was she thinking about Rosie? Wasn't she in the same situation as herself and even if Ken was a totally different kettle of fish from Daniel, Rosie's heart was the same as hers ... and besides, maybe Ken was different with Rosie. Maybe he had found someone to really love ... .Maybe ... she thought, but then again, pigs might fly ...

  "I'm sorry to sound so matronly about this, Rosie," she said softly, hoping that her understanding might serve as an apology for her sharpness of tone. "I know how you feel and only you can make a decision about this situation, but I thought you told me that this man didn't want the child."

  "I know that, Alison, but yesterday he came into the cafe and I spoke to him again about that."

  "Is he still of the same opinion, then?"

  "Yes, well, I think so, but he has agreed to talk about it with me."

  Alison gave a sigh of relief and hoped she had misjudged her former bastard of a husband.

  "Well, that's good. Are you going to meet him somewhere for this talk?"

  Again there was a long silence on the phone.

  "Yes," Rosie replied. "I am going to his flat this evening."

  "His flat? Are you telling me that he has given you his address AT LAST?"

  "Yes, Alison ... and his name."

  Alison rubbed her brow before she started to scratch her head in confusion.

  "And what name is that, may I ask, " she said, speaking very soberly and without any excitement, expecting the name to be anything but Ken.

  "He told me his name was Ken ... Alison, is that right?"

  Alison nodded into the telephone as if by this action she could put everything into place.

  "Yes, that's right Rosie. His name is Ken, but do be careful and take everything he says with a pinch of salt ... Oh sorry, Rosie, I shouldn't put it like that, but as I've said, please do be careful. Maybe we could meet in a few days time and you can let me know how you get on, eh?"

  "Yes, that will be fine. I'd like that Alison. Oh by the way, Ken also told me his surname. It's Royle. Is that right too?"

  Alison smiled and her hair fell across her eyes.

  "Yes, that's right, Rosie. See you whenever you can make it. Bye."

  As Alison put the telephone down, she looked about her, wondering what on earth Ken Royle was playing at. He never wanted children when he was married to her and she knew that was a strong aversion he had to kids in general, so why should he change. She felt there was some plan in Ken's mind, but she would have to wait until she saw Rosie again before she would know anything about that. She onl
y hoped that Rosie wasn't as gullible as she thought she might be. This was a serious matter for anyone and she cared about Rosie and her future, whatever that might be, but Ken Royle could go to hell as far as she was concerned.

  Three days later when Alison was walking along the High street, she bumped into Rosie again. It was a Saturday and they were both free until later on that day. Old bossyboots was good to them on a Saturday, although it was one of his busiest days, but he gave them lots of free time and expected only a two hour shift from each of the girls, whenever it suited them.

  "How are things then, Rosie?" she enquired enthusiastically and watched her friends face to see the reaction, but Rosie did not smile. She stared ahead as if she hadn't heard a word that Alison had said to her. "Rosie, I asked you a question," Alison repeated as she waved her hand in front of Rosie's face and Rosie stirred as if from a dream.

  "Oh sorry Alison, " she said softly, "I was miles away there. What was it you said?"

  Alison raised her eyebrows and grinned.

  "You're in love girl, I can see that, but I can't ... " she was about to say she couldn't understand how Rosie could be in love with a creep like Ken, but then she thought better of it as she smiled again and took Rosie's hand.

  "Are things a little better for you Rosie?" she asked and Rosie gave her a gentle little smile.

  "Yes, I think so . ." she replied "Well, I'm not quite sure, but Ken has asked me to re-think all this baby thing through. He says he doesn't really want to father any children, but that as he loves me, he will have to re-think things himself."

  Alison stopped in her tracks when she heard Rosie speaking as she did.

  "He told you he loved you?" she asked with utter surprise and Rosie nodded shyly.

  "Yes Alison He says he doesn't want to get married or anything like that, but he'll live with me if I agree that we can have an open relationship and in that way ..."

  "Yes, I know all about that Rosie," Alison snapped, interrupting what her friend was about to say. "In that way, you can stay at home and look after the baby; do the cooking and ironing and all the housework while he gallivants out doing what comes natural to him. Rosie I'm sorry to sound so hard when you ... well, you say he loves you, but as I have said before, do be careful and don't let him tell you how to live your life, or how he wants you to accept the life that he wants to lead. He's a bloody womaniser, Rosie, I'm sorry, but that has to be said."